In this digital age, it is no secret that internet access has a direct and significant impact on a nation’s economic growth.
Over 4 billion people actively use the internet today. Currently, about 43% of Africa is connected to the internet and this falls below the 60% mark that the Pew Research Center estimates as most favourable for economic growth. This tallies with the International Finance Corporation’s findings that an estimated $180 billion remains untouched in sub-Saharan Africa where developing nations struggle to offer fast, reliable and affordable internet to their citizens.
While a report by the World Bank estimates that it would take over $100 billion of investment and 10 years to achieve widespread broadband connectivity using traditional means, 3air is looking at cutting this time by up to 50% and at a fraction of the cost too.
3air is focused on providing high-speed connectivity and access to affordable, decentralized banking to quickly integrate people in developing African nations into the digital economy.
The Dubai-based firm aims to close the digital divide faster at lower costs relying on its specialized team of experts in IT, blockchain, marketing, telecommunication and automation to benefit local populations while also creating utility for the 3air token.
3air will leverage blockchain technology to provide a secure decentralized environment enabling access to bankless payments, sustainable bandwidth sharing, hardware ownership and digital identity management all with user data protection to improve health, work and education in Africa.
Through a strategic partnership with Swiss telecom service provider, K3 Telecom, 3air is to develop a broadband connection powered by K3’s optic grade air connectivity that can provide internet speeds of up to 1Gbps and over 150 television channels.
A successful proof of concept study for the technology has been done in Sierra Leone along with a functional business plan showing 3air’s commitment to improving Africa’s internet connectivity through business technological joint efforts.
The 3air CEO, Sandi Bitenc is quoted saying “There is nothing even remotely comparable to what 3air has to offer. We have a working solution that will connect the unconnected in Africa and bring millions of users to the 3air platform. This will allow a nation hungry for change to jump over a whole generation of technology.”
Payments for the 3air services in this new ecosystem will be made using the 3air token that was launched on 11th April 2022. The token will also be used for rewards, referrals, bandwidth sharing, staking and community governance.
The 3air token is an Ethereum-based utility and governance token that was initially running on the Cardano blockchain but migrated to the SKALE blockchain in February after citing hiring issues that were slowing down the project.
The SKALE network supports an ever-expanding set of chains making it quick and easy to set up cost-effective, high-performance chains that run smart contracts compatible with Ethereum. The network also offers fast transactions with near-zero latency and zero-end user gas fees.